Assessment 1 is comprised of 2 online quizzes. The quizzes are open book assessments aimed at establishing your familiarity with Services Marketing, the services marketing process, the service model, customer value and a range of other challenges and issues in the marketing of services. You will demonstrate your understanding of the critical differences between goods and service products, the nature of service consumption and service positioning, tools and techniques for service marketing including the 7Ps, and the major elements that improve the marketing of service products.

The learning content for these 2 quizzes will be covered during the first 7 weeks of the term (i.e., Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 inclusive).

There are 20 multiple choice, true/false or other questions provided for each of the two quizzes, for which the correct answers score 0.5 marks (20 x 0.5 = 10 marks for each quiz). The time allocated for completion of each quiz is 25 minutes.

Online Quiz 1

• The learning content covered within Quiz 1 constitutes Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 inclusive.
• Open: Monday, Week 4, at 9.00 am (AEST)
• Close: Friday, Week 5, at 5.00 pm (AEST)

Online Quiz 2

• The learning content covered within Quiz 2 constitutes Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 inclusive.
• Open: Monday, Week 7, at 9.00 am (AEST)
• Close: Friday, Week 8, at 5.00 pm (AEST)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• Each quiz must be completed in one sitting – ie. you can only open each assessable quiz once.
• Each quiz can only be completed online in Moodle at a time suited to you between the given dates.
• Candidates are responsible for secure, reliable internet access, ISP, browsers, connection and computer use (irrespective of ownership).
• Equipment failure is not usually grounds for special consideration or extension. Use of computers/computer labs on university campuses does not absolve students of their responsibility for having reliable and continued access to the internet.
• Do not attempt the quiz from 4:30 pm of the due date. Once each quiz closes, no further attempts are permissible.

• Candidates are responsible for secure, reliable internet access, ISP, browsers, connection and computer use (irrespective of ownership).
• Equipment failure is not grounds for special consideration or extension. Use of computers/computer labs on university campuses does not absolve students of their responsibility for having reliable and continued access to the internet. Do not attempt the quiz from 4:30 pm of the due date. Once each the quiz closes, no further attempts are permissible.

The second assessment consists of a portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of works and evidence that shows (1) learning progress and academic achievement in the unit; (2) your understanding of the learning outcome requirements; and (3) critical reflective thinking on your academic progress.

There are 2 tasks that need to be completed for your portfolio submission based on the following scenario:

You work with the marketing manager for Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), which is a government agency responsible for promoting holiday travel in the state (see their website at: https://teq.queensland.com/ ). As a result of COVID-19, the tourism industry throughout Australia has been very hard-hit. State governments are now working hard to re-establish domestic market share and grow their domestic tourism visitation numbers to begin to rebuild the tourism industry and state economies.

Task 1: Write a short report (700 words) on the following:

1. Identify and define the differences between a good (any ‘good’) and the service product(s) delivered by TEQ.
2. How are the 7P’s represented by the TEQ website (if at all)?

Include at least 5 references in your short report to support your discussion.

Task 2: Develop a creative 2-3 page brief targeting Queensland’s tourism industry providers (for more information on your creative brief, please see in moodle):

TEQ has identified there are 3 main High Value Traveller (HVT) market segments for domestic tourism (see the TEQ website and also the PDF document available in Moodle in the Assessment 2 topic, for further information on the HVT market segments). Your task is to choose one of the Interstate (ie domestic tourists from one of the other Australian states) visitor market segments and then one of the specifically identified HVT target markets for your marketing program. You will need to supplement this information in the TEQ brochure with other target market data that you can gather from other credible sources.

Then complete the following:

1. Introductory section/image that provides an overview of your chosen State market segment and HVT target market selection.
2. Consider Hofstede’s four dimensions of cultural value (Table 2.1). How would this concept apply to your chosen target market? For example, if you chose New South Wales as your domestic market and chose to focus on the “Interstate HVT 50+ travelling without children” segment as your specific target market; how would each of the four cultural dimensions influence your development of a marketing campaign for that segment profile? You can reasonably assume that each of these core cultural values describe the ways in which tourism industry providers need to develop their service to be able to best deliver good relational exchanges. So, for providers who would be targeting your chosen market, what would be their key considerations based on this theory?
3. Discuss the “important versus determinant attributes” (see pages 76-78) that you believe would apply to consumers with a high or low level of each of the dimensions of cultural value for visitors in your selected HVT target market. Justify your responses with evidence.
4. Competitive positioning - how will you position QLD for your chosen interstate domestic target market? What are Tourism & Events Queensland’s competitive “Points of Difference, Contention, and Parity” with marketing materials developed by the competing state’s tourism organisation. So, for example, based on our previous target market segment, what is the competitive positioning strategy for TEQ in comparison with the competing organisation in NSW - “Destination New South Wales”?

For task 2 of your portfolio, there is no specific word limit but there is a page limit – no more than 3 pages should be delivered for this task! You must develop a creative brief that (much like the HVT document provided by TEQ) shows the key points of your discussion in diagrammatic, infographic and data imagery forms as much as possible. Consider very carefully how you can best display information so that your audience (tourism industry providers in Queensland) will be able to quickly and clearly understand your message. Include at least 5 references to support your task 2 discussion.

Further Instructions:

• Your completed portfolio should also include a cover page, table of contents and reference list and ensure that all images, data, photographs, corporate logos, etc are appropriately cited in the body of your work.
• This is an individual assessment (no groups).
• Include at least 10 quality references in your work in total.

Key criteria that will be graded are provided below. A more detailed marking guide is provided in Moodle within the Assessment 2 topic area.

Task 1

• Define and discuss service products versus ‘goods’ in relation to TEQ
• Define and discuss the 7P’s of TEQ website
• Appropriate and relevant use of APA 7^th referencing (including at least 5 references)

Task 2

• Target market selection and profile.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of Hofstede’s four dimensions of cultural value to the chosen target market.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of the “important versus determinant attributes” to high and low cultural values.
• Competitive positioning that considers Points of Difference, Contention, and Parity between TEQ and your chosen competing State market.
• Appropriate and relevant use of APA 7^th referencing (including at least 5 references).

Your work will also be assessed on the following professional criteria:

• The use of clear English expression and logical flow between the ideas
• Accurate referencing of sources and correct presentation of graphs, tables, diagrams and/or drawings, etc.
• Your use of visual aids as a core component of your creative presentation/brief
• Clarity and design
• Concise and well-structured
• Creativity and innovation

It has been shown that high levels of customer satisfaction are linked to customer loyalty. Further that loyal customers are more frequently ‘heavy users’ of a service and therefore usually more profitable. The third piece of assessment that completes your body of work in this unit, consists of a business report that is 1500 to 2000 words in length. The focus of your report is to develop a customer retention plan and recovery strategy to support your service business post-COVID-19.

Choose one of the options below:

Option 1: A coffee shop or café in your local area that is not one of the major chains (ie NOT McDonalds, Gloria Jeans, Hungry Jacks, KFC, Boost Juice, etc.). Choose a small to medium sized, local enterprise to focus on.

OR

Option 2: A theatre in your town/city (can be an arts theatre such as the Brisbane Arts Theatre, the Malthouse Theatre of Princess Theatre in Melbourne, or Sydney Lyric Theatre, etc). Any cultural theatre but not movie cinemas/theatres.

OR

Option 3: Your Choice – provides the flexibility of developing a report for your current service-based employer or a service business you wish to start up (but not both). If you choose option 3 then you must gain approval from the unit coordinator for your proposed service business.

Task:

Your task as the marketing manager for your business choice (option 1, 2 or 3 above) is to develop a report for the business on creating loyal customers and building relationship marketing strategies for the enterprise. Your aim is to develop a plan for the business to build a foundation for customer retention and satisfaction.

You will need to:

1.  Develop a market segmentation profile of your current/future customers for the enterprise – based on its location (geographic) and suburb profile (demographic) and include key psychographic and behavioural characteristics.

2.  Consider how you can effectively tier your services to deliver value and satisfaction to all customers.

3.  Create a plan for customer retention for your business including:

            a. Strategies to create loyalty bonds

            b. Strategies to build in switching barriers, and

            c. Strategies to reduce churn. (See chapter 13 of your textbook and in particular Figure 13.7 for further information.)

4.  Provide any other recommendations that you feel would be appropriate for your business must consider delivering a comprehensive CRM strategy for their business. You can consider any of the 7Ps, and any of the common failures in CRM implementation, and/or other service recovery strategies address the post-COVID-19 challenges for retaining existing customers and potentially gaining new customers.

Your discussion and analysis in this written business report requires theoretical support from a minimum of 10 journal article references.

Further Instructions

• See assessment criteria below for further information on layout, style factors and inclusions.
• This is an individual assessment (no groups).
• A single Word document (no PDF) using at least size 11 font with 1.5 line-spacing.
• Should be 1500 to 2000 words in length.
• To be uploaded through the Unit Moodle site.

Key criteria that will be graded are provided below. A more detailed marking guide is provided in Moodle within the Assessment 3 topic area.

• Title page;
• Executive summary;
• Table of contents;
• Introduction;
• Service provider description and target market analysis;
• Tiering of the service provision;
• CRM Plan for customer retention including strategies to create loyalty, reduce switching and reduce churn;
• Recommendations;
• Conclusion;
• Reference list;
• Appendices if needed.

Your work will also be assessed on the following professional criteria:

• The use of clear English expression and logical flow between the ideas
• Accurate referencing of sources and correct presentation of graphs, tables, diagrams and/or drawings, etc.
• Your use of visual aids as a core component of your professional report delivery
• Clarity and design
• Concise and well-structured
• Creativity and innovation